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Cherokee County Uses ViewCast for Distance Learning

2/7/2007—Cherokee County School District in South Carolina has implemented new technologies in two of its high schools to support its distance learning courses. The district has adopted ViewCast's Niagara GoStream portable streaming media encoder to capture and encode classes, which are then broadcast to students unable to attend in person.

ViewCast is the developer of audio and video encoding and communication products. Its GoStream is being used at Gaffney High School and Blacksburg High School to create live streams in Windows Media, RealVideo, and Flash formats and to save encoded content locally at Gaffney High for later viewing. Those students will, in the future, also be able to watch classes on iPods, according to ViewCast.

"ViewCast’s GoStream provides a great deal of flexibility at an attractive price point," said Trad Robinson of Cherokee County School District information management services, in a prepared statement. "While the encoder has performed very well for us as part of the distance-learning program, we feel we haven’t yet tapped into its full potential. With its ease of use and high portability, GoStream opens the door to a variety of new teaching opportunities. We envision many additional ways in which it can benefit our students and teachers in the future."

GoStream also offers portability with wireless and battery options. This mobile functionality will be used at Cherokee County to capture and encode professional development courses for the district's teachers. The Cherokee County School District includes 12 elementary schools, four middle schools, three high schools, and two community learning centers.

About the author: Dave Nagel is the executive editor for 1105 Media's educational technology online publications and electronic newsletters. He can be reached at dnagel@1105media.com.

Have any additional questions? Want to share your story? Want to pass along a news tip? Contact Dave Nagel, executive editor, at dnagel@1105media.com.

About the Author

David Nagel is edtorial director, education for 1105 Media's Public Sector Media Group. A 22-year publishing veteran, Nagel has led or contributed to dozens of technology, art and business publications.

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